Local couple forgoes wedding gifts to help sick

When Melissa and Jean-Marc Pellerin were planning their wedding, they knew they wanted their big day to be more than just a big party. They wanted their day to be a celebration of the love they found in one another.

So, when it came to putting together a wedding registry, instead of a blender or a toaster or something that comes with a gift receipt, Melissa and Jean-Marc asked their guests to give a gift from the heart. In lieu of traditional wedding gifts, they asked their friends and family to make a donation to Padua Community Services in honor of their wedding.

Melissa, who works with the Louisiana Restaurant Association, was introduced to Padua’s ministry to the disabled and the elderly through the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation’s (LHF) annual “Santa Drop-off” at Padua House.

“I had seen pictures and I had heard about Padua, but we wanted to learn more.” Melissa said.

A personal tour
She and her now-husband Jean-Marc, who works with his family’s manufacturing business, Pellerin-Milnor, decided to take a tour of Padua House with LHF’s CEO David Blitch and his wife Margaret. After their visit, they knew they wanted to do something to help.

“It was Jean-Marc’s idea,” Melissa said. “We felt like it was important to bring attention to Padua, and our wedding was a really good opportunity to do that. We really wanted to do this.”

Padua Community Services provides comprehensive and specialized care for children and adults through Padua House, Padua Community Homes and Padua Home and Community Services. Care includes residential sites as well as in-home care and adult day health care for clients with a range of developmental and physical disabilities who often have nowhere else to go.

Padua provides individualized care plans for each client that includes stimulation and activities that ensure quality of life.

“Padua really allows these children and adults to live with dignity and purpose,” Melissa said after visiting Padua House.

Although some guests were a bit surprised by their registry request, Melissa and Jean-Marc’s friends and family ultimately responded with a huge outpouring of love and support for this cause. Through their guest’s generosity, Melissa and Jean-Marc raised more than $9,890 for Padua through their wedding registry.

“I did not dream that we would raise so much, “Melissa said. “In the end, everyone was supportive and it showed.”

This article was featured in the March 2014 issue of Catholic Charities’ “Notes from the Heart” newsletter. To learn more, go to www.ccano.org.

Anna Toujas, associate director of communications for Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, can be reached at atoujas@archdiocese-no.org.